Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-04-01
n am gong pack.v said Sir Henry.

Then | went and looked. TIe corpse was
that of tail man in middle life. with aqut-
line features, grizzled hair, and long black
mustache The skin was perfectly yellow,
and stretched tightly over the bones. Its
clothing, with the exception OF what seemed
to be the remains of a WOODEN pair of hose
had been removed, leaving the skeIeton-like
frame naked. Round the neck hung 4 yell
low ivory crucifix The corpse was frozen
perfectly stitf.
who ON earth can it be?' said l.
Cant you guessg' asked Good
| shook my head.
why, the old don, Jose da SilyeStra, OF
cOurse-WhO else"
impossible | gasped; she died three
hundred years ago"
And what is there to prevent his lasting
for three THOUSAND ycars in this atmosphere,
/ should like TO kL0w?' asked Good. IF
only the air is cold enough. flesh and blood
will keep as fresh as New Zealand mutton
forever, and Heaven knows it is cold enough
here. The sun never gets in here; no ami
mai comes here to tear or destroy No doubt
his slave, Of whom he speaks GU the map,
took Off the clothes and left him. lie could
not have buried him alone. LooI, here" he
went on STOPPING down and picking rlD 4
queer-shaped bone scrapcd at the end into q
Sharp point, here is the 'c.eft-bOmc' that he
used to draw the map with"
We gazed astOniShed for moment, for
getting our own miseries in this eXtraOrdiha-
ry and. rs it seemed to us semi-mracu.ous
sight.
"Ay," said Sir Henry, 'and here is where
he got his ink FROM and he pointed to 4
small wound on the dead mans LEFT arm.
"Did ever man see such a thing bcfore?'
There was no longer any doubt about the
matter, which / confess for my own part
perfectly appalled, me. There he sat the
dead man, whose directions, written some
ten generations ago had led lis to tins spot.
There in my own hand was the rude pen
with which he had written them, and there
round his neck was the cruciiiX his dying
lips had kissed. Gazing at him my magma
tion could reconstruct the whole scene, the
traveller dying OF cold and starvation, and
yet striving to convey the great secret lie had
discovered to the worId-the awful Iontl-
ness Of his death, Of which the evidence sat
before rs. 1t even seemed to me That |
could trace in his strongly marked features
a likeness to those OF my poor friend SiIvcs-
tire his descendant, who hsd died twenty
years ago in my arms but perhaps that was
fancy. At any rate, there lie sat a sad me-
meutO Of the fate that so often UyGrtaGCS
those who penetrate into the unknown:
and there probably he will still sit. crowned
with the dread majesty of dcath, for ccHtU
Tirs vet unborn, TO startG the eyes of wand
ercrs like ourselves il any such should ever
come again to invade his loneliness. I he
thing overppWcrcd rs already nearly done
to death rs we were with cold ara hunger.
Let us Co." said Sir IIc4ry, in low
voice; "sily, "" will give him acDmpamiOm,'
and lifting up the dead body Of the iiottcn-
tot VcntyogcI, he placed it near that OF the
Old dom Then lie stopped down, auu Wiz! 4
jrr, broke the rotten string OF the cTucdX
round his neck, for his fingers were tuo cold
to attempt To uniastcn it. ..tcyc that he
still. has it. | took the pen and it is before
me rs | Uritr-s.mrtjnes ! sign MY name
with it.
Then leaving those two the proud white
man OF a pJ5t age, and the poor llrttcntOt
to keep their eternal vigil IN Tn" midst Of the
eternal SHOWS, We crcpt out OF the cave imtC
the welcome sunshine and resumed on,
path, wondering in oar hearts how many
hours It would be before we were even az
they are.
When we had gone about Il half 4 mile We
came to the edge of the plateau for the nip
pie of the mountain did not rise out of its
exact center, though from the desert side it
seemed TO do SO. What lay below us we
could not see, for the landscape was wreath
cd in biIFowS OF morning mist. Presently,
however, the higher layers OF mist cleared a
little, and revealed some five hundred yards
beneath us at the end ola long slope of
green grass, through winch Il stream was
running. Nor was this all. BY the stream,
baSking in the morning sun. stood and lay a
group of from ten TO fifteen large antelopes
at that distance we could not see what
they were
The sight filled us With am mrc1SOung
joy. There was food in plenty if only we
could get it, The beasts were fully six hun
drcd yards off, very long shot aud one not
to be depended on when ones life hung on
the results.
Rapidly we discussed the ACCESSIBILITY Of
trying to stalk The game, but finally reluc.
family dismissed it. 70 begin with-the
wind was not favorable, ami further, we
should be certain to be perceived however
careful we were, against the binding back
ground of SHOW, which We should be obliged
to traverse
well, We must have a try from where we
are, said Sir Henry.
(Which shalt it be, Qultrrmain, the IT,
peating rifles or the expresses"
Here again was a question. Tie Wuchcs
ter rcpcatcrs- ol which we had two, limbo.
pl carrying poor NcntyugrI'S rs we'll rs his
Own-wcrr sighted I'M to- thousand wards
whereas the Expresses were only sighted To
three hundred and uftv, beyond which dis.
lance shooting with them was more or less
gucss-work. On the other hand. if they did
mi, the express bullets being expanding,
We're much more likely to bring the game
"'""' II was hUo''y point nut mate up
my ''''" '''" we must tNN II amt use the
expresses
Let eacli OF us take the buck opposite to
him. Aim we'll at the point of the shoulder.
and high up. SAID |; and Umbopa do you
give inc word, 50 that we may all fire to-
Srther'
Then catpe a pause. each man aiming his
level best rs indeed one is likely 10 do when
one knows that life depends u,on the shot
Fire." said Irmbnua in ZuIu mud ot ~.
most the same instant fine tbran r,r.. r,,,,.
out loudly. fhr,r clouds nf s,,,,l-o b,,,,,- -
n moment before rs and \ bun,Ir,J ,chn,s
went living away over tbe siInnt snow. Pr
scntly the smoke cleared ami rayeaInd-oh
jov!-a great buck wing ON its ha,r, onI
kicking turiousiy in its death agony We !
gave yell Of triumph-we We're saved, we
should not Starve. Weak rs we worn wa
rushed down the intervening slope of snow.
and IN ten minutes from the time of firing.
the mlmaIs heart and liver were lying smok- |
ing before us. But now a new difficulty |
arose; we had no fuel and therefore could |